Well, well, well, NBA media days are officially pawned us and we're back breaking down the Atlantic.
Hey.
Look, the Pistons had to catch a straight today on this media day it turned out, and we're doing an Atlantic Division breakdown with Sparra Haney on today's episode.
I'm Miles Gray and I'm Jack O'Brien and this is.
Jack.
Sorry, got it.
Look at the h t K.
Driving spinning Tyler number eighteen that's been secure the Celtic or NBA champions over the.
Couple team to be.
Honest with the term look a shot time.
What's you go?
Yes, very Haney, welcome back to the show. You're currently covering the Raptors for Forbes, amongst other things. It's good to have you back as we talk about the Atlantic Division, because truth be told, I'm a bit behind on knowing what is happening with the Toronto Raptors and I need someone from your expertise to help break it down and wondering if you know, if the fans have a reason to be nervous or hopeful or maybe both. I think why not all things, but anyway, it's good to have you back.
Man, appreciate you guys having me, man, just for context, are you a lifelong Raptors fan? Is that? What's your relationship with the Raptors. It's kind of weird.
I so I started off being a Lakers fan very very early in my career because like I just started yeah, yeah, because I was smart and I knew what I was doing. No, when I was like seven or eight years old, Kobe was the guy. Obviously this was that.
At eighty one.
I was like ten when he did that, and it was crazy. Yes, yeah, yeah, but I was always kind of like affiliated love the Lakers. And then yeah, eventually, just because I live here, became a Raptors fan, and now I I covered the team.
Man. Pretty wild story, I guess, yeah, living the dream. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
So you didn't get into the Raptors via Jurassic Park like I did. No, wait, like the movie or that's how I got got Basketball's wait what that movie?
And I was like, wait, they played basketball and they're not even messing up the ball with their claws.
You know, it's crazy. So I didn't. I didn't make that connection for a while. I always thought they got the Purple Dinosaur from Barney.
Yeah, that's where I.
Got the connection. From because I was a little kid. I was much much younger. Yeah, so I always thought that was the connection, but it was not.
They were like, you know, who looks like he could ball? Barney?
What I mean, what didn't did it have to do a Jurassic Park? The naming of it?
Yeah, I always assumed that it was because it was like around that time that they came into the league, right, yeah, it was.
They totally vote on the name, right. Wasn't there like a thing where everyone yeah, okay.
Yeah, they almost became the raccoons. They they I thought spiders was Yeah, I know.
Lie, raccoons would have been super dope.
Spiders even better though, I mean, you know, you know, the nicknames would have gotten real problematic.
Yeah, I agree, Yeah.
Toronto Raccoons.
I don't know.
That seems like a joke. Jersey. Yeah, that's crazy. The coons just doesn't have that rate to it, like the rap Right, what were saying? What else could it do? Spiders? Like spiders University of Richmond.
I think like otters or something like that. That was I'm glad that didn't happen to yeah wait yeah yeah beavers. It probably thought like towers. I know, Toronto Towers was a big thing. They want to do that for the w NBA team potentially, We'll see what happens.
But you just got to go after size if that's your team name, though, Yeah, can't. You don't have the luxury to be like a perimeter, you know, quick team, you have size as if you had gone with the t Rexes. But raptors, which, by the way, like raptors probably like the six eight swing men, athletic perimeter, small forwards who can play any position of the dinosaur world, which is kind of how the raptors have always been, right, they just stay in that raptor I'm just saying, we
believe in nominative determinism. Where like people named Dennis become dentists, I think the Raptors have built their team become based around their team nickname.
So like Lakers would be just a bunch of people who enjoy la.
Yes, yeah, just like not great The Lake Show. I don't know, I didn't think through it.
I'm just.
Lucky, right, you know, The Lake Show wet from beyond the arc.
I don't know, Okay, I like that. Warriors Warriors, yes, exactly, pretty straightforward.
Yeah, I think these all were Houston Rockets, rocket, you know, rocketing success, the magic.
Obviously, the jazz I think really music, you know, very definitely.
A free flowing form of basketball.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, so free, so free. But like, yeah, so around the league. We got a media day. They have become they have begun the Celtics start. Did you catch Jalen Brown's spicy commentary a little bit there.
I only saw the thing he said about the Olympics as like, yeah, do we really have to ask that question right now? I didn't see anything else, So what else did he say?
He looked at the Detroit Pistons. Unfortunately, we're catching strays. This is he was. It was interesting. He was just talking about bench players and he's like, yeah, you know, we'll play teams like, you know, no disrespect the Pistons and you know, and our guys that need some time, you know, they can get out there. It was very It was a little bit harder.
Than that, and a lot of anytime anytime someone says no disrespect, you mean.
Get ready to be full body disrespected, right.
And then I mean big thing too. Affecting the world of basketball journalism, WOJ resigned from ESPN to to head over to Saint Bonaventure as the men's basketball team's general manager, which is I'm okay, I like that. I mean I don't know what that Yeah.
I mean clearly he wants it. I don't know what's going on in ESPN that this was, you know, but we'll just say, well, just purely what a run a tip of the hat twenty and nine to twenty twenty four, the WOJ bomb was, you know, like iconic. Yeah, just like built a career to retire early man, Yeah exactly.
I mean if that's what this is, that's dope. And you know who builds a like job like that that didn't exist, Like one sports reporter who just had all the scoops and all the information like that didn't exist like that just that was like a thing that happened in like sixties movies where they're like his name is Scoops and he gets to the bottom of everything and like you know, he's a famous reporter. Yeah, but like he created a name where like you knew a WOJ
bomb was coming, Like that was it? Uh oh yeah, something something important was happening to.
The point that like it's informed sports journalism like in many other sports like that sort of insider thing of like who has the juice like that to be able to get these kinds of scoops? So yeah, WOJ, we salute.
Yeah Adam speaking of other sports, I feel like Adam Schefter or whoever the NFL equivalent was like was talking. He's all him like talking about WOJ and like he was like, you don't know what we put up with. Man, you never had your phone pressed against the shower door because you're expecting a text from like a team GM
and you just like can't. Like he just seemed like, yeah, I mean I've always assumed, Yeah, I've never thought about Woold's job and been like that looks like fun like that, Yeah, that thing probably makes you age like the bad guy from Men in Black, Like yeah, like you know like that that can't be good for the body where you're just like staring at your phone twenty four hours a day for entire like large chunks of the year, and.
It's got to be like just the you know, like so stressful, like we're like, Noah, when's the next one. I got to get the next bomb? Ready? Yeah, where's the next bomb coming from?
I'm kind of curious to see what happens with Shams then, because like Shops is like, what, uh, he's twenty something. He's probably in his thirties now maybe right, Yeah, I.
Don't really thirties. Yeah.
So so he's been doing this for like ten years now, right, does he have that longevity in him to go to Woja's age?
I don't know.
Man, to my previous point, WOJ twenty nine years old. He just looks that way because of how hard this.
Exactly that's the job I mean started when he was fourteen, you know what I mean that first that first bomb.
D first bomb draft. Someone needs to do like a biopic about him, you know, just like the origin story of WOJ.
It'll happen. It'll happen for sure, no question.
Yeah, I could see that also around the league, Joel Embiid Joel is it. I don't know how to pronounce this guy's name's mbi'd. He talk about NBA basketball. Mbi'd has agreed to a three year, one hundred and ninety three million dollar deal with my Philadelphia seventy six ers will keep Embiid in Philly through the twenty eight twenty nine season if he ultimately picks up his player option for sixty nine million dollars at age thirty five.
I'll take that.
Yeah, I mean I still have a brain that can't conceive of the future, and so that's never going to happen. But it does seem like it will keep him happy for the next couple seasons, which is when we need him to be happy. But I don't know. I guess we'll get into the sixers in our Atlantic Division preview.
Yeah, that would basically be the next presidential election cycle is when that one is up.
Damn.
Yeah, you're right, that's going to be like the fall of the next presidential election twenty eight. Anyway, a lot going on.
So on Celtics media day, did they mentioned some Olympics stuff. I actually didn't catch that what happened there because I do think I don't know, like with a team as dominant as the Celtics, you got to look for like little fissures that we can poke into and hope and be like big Press. But I so my hopes as a Celtic ruder against her is Jason Tatum's inability to shoot from outside continues to stay with him, which like
that was real over the in the Olympics. He think he wou like, oh for thirteen fourteen from.
Three playoffs too. I think he saw like twenty nine percent on pull ups or something crazy like that.
So that would be great if he continued to not be able to shoot very well. And then Jalen Brown obviously, you know, seemed to take it very personally that he wasn't on the Olympics team. I feel like that could go the other direction and he'll just be mad, and yeah.
Sometimes playing mad can be a bit of an engine for someone.
Yeah, like after someone doesn't make an All Star team and then like just goes on a tear.
I honestly think the biggest hole, I mean, question or whatever you want to call about the Celtics is the Porzingis situation because he he's not going to be back to like January, you know, the and I know it didn't matter much in the playoffs, but in the regular season, and you're probably not going to be stacking up as much wins as you did when he was available. And then you're relying on a one year older Al Horford, he's like nearly forty. He's he's fighting with he said.
Hey, some of us are out here, you know, we're out here.
I'm just saying, you know, you're you're not trying to play some basketball though.
I mean I am, and the Lakers won't give me a try out. Bro And I said, Bron's about to be forty. Not even South Bay, not even South Bay Man, not just South Bay wreck leagues anyway, that's disrespectful.
But look, yeah, no, look, I think Porzingis question is is the big thing with the Celtics is like, who are they going to rely on in the front court. You know, obviously they have this guy in the Maya's Kita they're interested in. I think Luke Cornett's going to get some minutes, but that's tough. Like, how are you going to pull out the Cornets contest? Yes, you know, yeah, the corner three contests with the two hands.
I love it all this, Yeah, where he jumps in the middle of the lane. The rest of the shooters of the Atlantic Division are on notice. So, I mean, we'll talk Celtics, we'll talk next, we'll talk Sixers, Raptors, we might even talk Nets. We're going to take a quick break and then we'll come back and talk Atlantic Division. We'll be right back, and we're back.
We're back.
So I mean, I think we've been pretty open, like this is the one thing that this podcast can agree on. Like you're you're a Lakers fan, Miles, I'm a Sixers fan, but we are a don't like the Celtics podcast. I do not want them to do well.
We're all in agreeance there. Yeah, raptists, people don't really like Celtics.
People either unite all the Kingdom, I mean America. The one thing America can agree on, except for like one percent who live around Boston, is we don't want to see the Celtics repeat as champions.
No, no, no, no.
That does seem like the most likely occurrence. I know people talk about it being very difficult to repeat. They certainly haven't been able to do it in a long time. But they won sixty four games last year. This year, they're projected to win fifty nine and a half wins. I disagree with that. I think it's either going to be fifty nine or sixty. I don't see it being fifty nine and a half.
I don't know how that's mathematically possible, Like it's just never happened before, so it's weird that they keep predicting that.
But yeah, I mean as like you said, the reason it makes sense for them to go down five wins four wins is Porzingis is out until January February March April May to port why cleft.
Yeah, I see you crying, but girl, I can't stay.
I'm taking the under on the fifty nine and a half too on a wow. I say that because I think the East has gotten better overall, too, like even the excluding the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards and maybe even the Detroit Pistons, although I think the Pistons got Bay.
Come on, man, they already caught us straight.
You're right, You're right.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
We love you.
And the Hawks of course, and the Hawks and the Bulls. The Hornets, you know, Hornet and the Bulls also probably bad, but then then their lasers could always get hurt.
And yeah, I honestly think that he's got better, but it's not as good as the West. And I ultimately think like they're not going to win as many games as they had last season. Like it's just as simple as that sixty four was great. It was, I believe, if not the best, the second best in Celtics history or third best. I think between the eighty six Celtics and then the eight Celtics and then this one. So there's just it's tough to win sixty plus games and the NBA too.
Yeah, you know, they were a historically great team last year like that. The whole season, We're just looking at their stats and being like, oh my god, this is this is bad for everyone.
Yeah, because if they if they're near that kind of form, like we're looking at like a true aberration, as I would described it, like something I do. I don't know what is going on if they find another level, But I.
Think it's also just it you get tired, man, like this, it becomes less challenging, and I do feel like, you know, Jyalen Brown even said it with the whole Pistons thing, they might prioritize playing Peyton Pritchard and Sam Houser and that Baylor Shireman guy that they drafted a little bit more to give these Guysman, that's a cool name. That is the Celtics name if I've ever seen one.
Yeah, that is like if they did a Ireland specific remake of Game of Thrones. Baylon Shireman a man, it's a little on the nose from.
The shire man. Stop asking questions. But yeah, back to that thing, like you that Jalen Brown quote, he was truly being He's like, yeah, man, and that's what happens, dude. I think quote was, we're gonna play it through Peyton, let him go for thirty, play through Sam, let him shoot like ten three pointers.
Oh that's sad man.
I will say this is the youngest championship team we've seen trying to repeat in terms of like their main pieces in Jalen and Jason the Jays. The thing that always scares me is like heading into last season, somebody was like, oh, by the way, just like I know everybody's like, should the Celtics blow it up? Should they break up Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown? Just a reminder that like this was the year in terms of their
age that like Jordan and Pippens started winning titles. So there's always that there's always a chance that they're just like they're just that we're about to like, yeah, three in a row right now.
You know in Jurassic Park where they see the cup of water like kind of vibrates, Yeah, yeah, that's what you saw. Yeah yeah, yeah, the next one you're gonna look up in moon roof of your explorer and a t rex head is going to push your whole life in so.
Many Jurassic Park references today.
I love. Yeah, It's just it is what it is, baby Gilbert Man. So I guess you know S has given me the the the confidence that I think I will pick the under because I do like some of the other teams in the East a lot like I'm really got my eye on Yeah.
I think I'm not going to say they're gonna be like the best team that ever played, but I think they're gonna win like seventy four to seventy five games next year and it's over for all of us.
You're going for the over because it's over, and for good reason. We are afraid of the Boston Celtics.
I am afraid of the Celtics. I do. I do think obviously they were much better with Porzingis, but I don't know. I have to think, like the Knicks are probably going to be playing for like the best record in the East. I have to hope that the seventy six are not that foolish and are going to be resting in for Milwaukee. Anybody also a possibility, but we are not talking about Milwaukee today. I forgot they existed until you just said that, because this is our Atlantic Division.
I mean, okay, man, sure you aren't of Brewers all right? Up next in terms of likely win total this year, and yeah, it's the New York Knicks. And I feel like just generally the consensus of like who people are most excited about, we get the New York Knicks. That they also had the next most wins last year, fifty last year, projected to hit fifty three point five this season.
They acquired McHale Bridges, which I think a lot of people are like, he's going to be a nice addition to their offense, but he's also going to be one of the better defenders on their team, if not the best perimeter defender on their team. I mean, probably not the best. That's probably still ogi. But they're, yeah, they're gonna be really good. Uh and we're already pretty good.
There's always that one team that like tries very hard in the regular season, and I can't think of a better thing to describe a Tom Thibodeau team. So yeah, they're like, I could see we look back up on this in April and they've won sixty games and they've just tried really hard, and they're the one seed and there's you know, there's a whole like one seed Eastern Conference curse thing too, which didn't apply to the Celtics
last year. But I don't know. I think I think there's a chance they could just go all out in the regular season, even though they have the whole Mitchell Robinson injury and not having tons of center depth, and that'll be an issue just like it is for the Celtics. But I think the Knicks depth is crazy, like they could shack multiple different starting lineups even without Mitchell Robinson
and it would make sense. And there's I don't know how you guys feel about this, but there's also the Julius Randall thing in the background of him wanting to get paid and will he get paid and all that type of stuff. I don't know how that impacts them, but I guess it is a question about the Knicks for this season.
Yeah, right, like where do they you know, cash that out and see what they can get, you know, And.
I mean they need a big right they lost Hartenstein last since last year that seems to be the one kind of question mark for them. Would love to see that be a big problem for them, especially once we get into the playoffs and they have to play the seventy six ers again. But they I don't know. Yeah, the Julius Randall question is is interesting. I feel like he's probably not the answer to the questions that this roster has and that they should probably figure out something else.
But yeah, I don't know who that's going to be.
I mean, i should be someone from Villanova. I think, are there any.
Good are there any good Villanova biggs as I'm.
Just saying of the people that played with the other four Villanova players that were there at the same time, Let's see who is the center? Then? Uh boy, it's slim picks here. Yeah, I don't know. Is Keith van Horn around? He went to Nova? Maybe bring that give that guy a go horn? Yeah? Oh no, no, uh uh no no, no, I'm I'm saying Keith that Horne because he played on that team with Kerry Kittle's there. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I'm trying to look. I'm just looking. I was because I was looking at the old Villanova rosters and I'm like, how is this possible? They have four guys that were playing together in college, and we were looking back at some of the like, I don't think anyone's ever had four people playing all together. Yeah, and producer Jabartie just said, there are no current Villanova bigs, so hey, you might have to settle for someone who didn't go to Nova.
Yehi Sadik Bay, Michale Bridges. Yeah, man, that's tough for them. Kyle Lowry could come back. Uh, Cam Whitmore, he's six seven, that's something. Yeah, we were trying to name like another team that had four I remember, you know, my dad was an assistant on this team, but the Celtics after when so, I mean this is kind of comparable, right, So Patino leaves the University of Kentucky after winning a title there. Uh, Antoine Walker is already with the Celtics.
He goes to the Celtics. He drafts Ron Mercer that year, and then a year later Walter McCarty comes along. All three people who played on the championship team with the coach of the championship team. That kind of yeah, that's about as close as we got. That one didn't work out quite as well as as this seems to be working. But yeah, that's that was weird that like all those all those guys were we're together. I don't think it happens.
I don't know. Yeah, yeah it doesn't. Yeah, it's very it's very weird, and it does seem to, I don't know, be working. They have some sort of connect that is frustrating where you're going with them in a play.
It's seriously Yeah, it seems like I don't know who's ever had four, Like it's always just it feels like it always tops out at three. Yeah, so wow, good for all the.
Yeah, good for all them. I'm a big over on them, A big over. I think they're going to win seventy seventy one win games to seventy teams. That would be not.
Night to night. Yeah, I definitely. I mean there, I've I'm I'm just like they've always been like my little my favorite like East Coast team. So like, yeah, I'm because I don't have nothing but anxiety about the Lakers. I'm definitely like yeah, yeah, I like then they're looking good. I like that. I like to see it. I like to see it. I like to see it.
Tims. They should have to play in TIMS. That's always been my belief.
I know we always talked about those rules that you should be able to introduce, like just the kind of level out of game, like if you go down twenty, like you can hit a panic button and then your opposition now has to playing tims or they play with a beach ball during their possessions. You can't do that thing. Good luck getting stuffed every time. But I guess we should move on, Jack. Are you willing and able to talk about your Philadelphia seventy six ers.
I just never have been Miles, never had again. Yeah, let's go for it. Yeah, so they pushed Miles. I'm gonna use a poker metaphor here and I hope you don't mind, and it's gonna be pretty complicated and hard to follow. But the seventy six ers pushed all their chips into the middle here because they're they're going all in nice. Yeah, that's right. They brought Andre Drummond back back up to and they got Paul George, they got
Caleb Martin. They did not lose Tyrese Maxey and Joe l Embiid will be back and fully healthy, and its promised to be healthy the whole season and into the playoffs. So I think we're good here, moving on.
Okay, it's all seriousness. I mean this is having Tyresse, Maxi, Paul George and embiid. I think that looks pretty cool to me.
Hey man, I think that's pretty cool.
Pretty cool. Now are you? Are you doing the thing Jack where you're protecting your heart? You secretly do feel optimistic, but you can't let yourself get there for fear of total emotional collapse. Come the all Star break ish period or what? How do you feel good? Please tell me you feel great. I don't know what you're talking about. I am just the only realistic person when it comes
to the seventy six ers. They have not been able to get out of the second round of the playoffs because of some manner of curse that was put on them.
Who do you think put.
The curse on Who's the Who's the Philadelphia curse?
I don't know, man, that's a great that's a great question. But we all saw, I know you saw as they Leonard shot that killed me for like thirty seconds.
Maybe it was Vince Carter who put the curse on them? You know, went to graduation two thousand and one.
This shot.
Yeah, guys, get a you guys get a finals run out of it. Yeah, stepping over Tyler. Maybe Tyler cursed them.
Yeah, it could be Tyler. These are all great theories.
Yeah.
Anyways, MB probably has the most health questions of any great player in the league in recent history. He just, you know, for a while there it was like bad luck where he would just like break his face, like multiple multiple times. Heading into the playoffs. He broke his face his rookie year, like that first year when he was just playing out of his mind, broke his face
on I think MARKL. Fults, So it wasn't his rookieyears like his second or third, but broke his face on Markel Fultz and then broke his face on Pascal in
the first round and got a concussion. But now he's also one of the heaviest players in the history of the league, and that is going to cause problems on a human body, and we're starting to see the lower body injuries pile up, and I don't know, I've always found it to be a uniquely harrowing experience to watch him land and now he's just like that much heavier. So it's yeah, you do you feel like they should.
Rest him like no back to backs, no third game in four nites type of thing, none of that, Like just take off as many games as you play.
Forty games this season, I don't know, you know, forty tops for me, I think he should think he should only Yeah, I think if they wanted to shut him down for you know, a big chunk of like if they if they're on a nice run and they're doing that like dipping in and out with embiid and like they feel like, Okay, we're winning it like a sixty percent clip. When Embid's out of the lineup, then let's
let's do it. Let's shut him down for a couple months, have him just working on his body, because right now, it's the problem with that has been that when he's not playing, he's like getting in worse shape. And somehow we need to verse that trend. And I don't know if there's a possible way to do it because weight rooms and exercise have not been invented, so I no way to know really how to get around this problem of not being in shape.
What is there over under when total thingy?
So last year they won forty seven while he missed a whole bunch of games, right and this year they're projected to win thirty forty, they're projected to win fifty. Luck, man, this is hard. I am switching the numbers around.
That can't be. That's thirty year five and a half.
This year they're projected to win fifty three and a half, So a gain of six and a half wins, which some would argue is low based on the fact that they added Paul George, Caleb Martin lost to some people who have been not that productive for them, like Tobias Harris Well, I.
Was going to say, can Paul George fill that Tobias Harris By, Yeah.
No way to know, really, yeah, yeah, right, But I do think that they're baking in some of the health questions. I think the Sixers are probably a little closer to the Clippers than Sixers fans would want to admit, you know, heading into the season at this point where like the Clippers are like, what, we just know that they're not going to be healthy, So why are we even even
having this conversation? Like they should be projected, like the injuries should be built into their projections, and it seems like people are starting to do that with the seventy six ers. So for me, I am a huge over on this. I think seventy one seventy two wins for the seventy six ers, why seventy six? Yeah, I mean that would actually be cool and maybe that's something that they should do.
Aime Hi Jack, you know you shame for seventy six you might hit fifty three and a half.
I think fifty three is like right around where they could be. Yeah, even taking some injuries into account, it's tough with Like, if Paul George is injured throughout, then we have problems, and that has been a problem for him in the past.
So how are you you optimistic? Are you when you look at this Philly team or are you kind of like I think.
Unfortunately, was really optimistic last year. I thought last year was the year. I'm like, you know what, they let go of Harden Max, He's going to take a leap this is and he did.
He did take a leap.
But you know, I thought that was going to be the year where they just kind of get lucky, embiid gets healthy and it happens. I still, unfortunately believe that that will sometime in the next couple of years happen, Like there will be a Dirk Noovitsky esque run for Embiid around the corner, because I really believe in Joel Embiid is like an incredible basketball player. But to Jack's point, like the man just cannot stay healthy and that is baked into everything that has to do with the Sixers.
So I don't know, I don't know how I feel about them. I feel like I've believed so many years that I want to not believe this year and that like that's weird.
That must be weird when specifically you have that feeling about this team.
Jackson, you're definitely not a fan, dude. I like that.
I like that interesting.
Let me take myself away from it, like maybe I'm the Jinx, you know, maybe I'm the curse here.
Yeah, keep and I do blame you, I know, I know. I just mean a lot of the worst things that have happened to this team have happened as the result
of the Raptors. We of course have the Quhi shot, but we also have you know, his face being broken after hitting an amazing game winning shot, like everybody always talks about him like he's a complete like completely disappears in shrinks from the moment in the playoffs, he hit an amazing game winning shot to go up three to zero against the Rats where he's like falling out of bounds. Was just like here, I'm seven foot two, I'm gonna come get it and just hit a fade away three
to like put you out of your misery. Did get his face broken the next game by Pascal Siakam.
So he did.
It was great.
Well, who knows, maybe like the the reckoning or the rebalancing of the scales comes in the form of a former Raptor and Kyle Lowry and Philadelphia born.
There we go maybe and maybe maybe that maybe things are right from North Philly to your city, as they.
Say in Philadelphia. Yeah, all right, so I need to like go take a shower, so, uh we should, we should take a break. We'll come back. We'll talk about your Toronto Raptors. And we're back.
We're back, and we're back.
Yeah. Oh and we're back.
Hey yo yo, yeah we.
Are, and we're talking of course about the Toronto Raptors.
Yeah twenty five wins. Yeah, correctly, yeah you are. Actually it's Toronto. That's how you sound like a herb Toronto. Yes, the second T is silent. Toronto. Yeah, uh so the Toronto Rappers. Wait, is the first tea in Raptors silent or not?
You could if you want to.
Yeah, yeah, all right, speaking.
Of Toronto Rappers. Twenty five wins?
How many keys and Raptors?
How many rs in Raptors? One? Huh?
Anyway is one? What are you telling?
A joke for those that listen to the other show. But yeah, twenty five wins last year. We're looking at a four to five and a half game bump for twenty nine and a half to thirty and a half wins according to the bookies at this moment. U s I mean, like I'm sometimes when I hear how Toronto fans are like, we had a good thing going and we got rid of pieces that we didn't replace. What is happening? Like, oh it sounds like the Lakers? Wait, hold on, man, I think I like them.
How are you is there?
Like? Is this what's happened?
What is the state of what is going on in Toronto?
I mean, look, it hasn't been a great year for for Toronto vibes, you know, not a great year as.
You know, Yeah, no idea, what you're talking about the fall of.
The fall of a fellow road men, you know, yeah, just speaking of Toronto rappers.
Yeah, yeah, round, but no talk about running through the streets with your woes. There's so many, got a lot of them these days.
That was.
Man, okay.
Look, so for the uninitiated, they have an All Star in Scottie Barnes.
Uh.
They just traded last year for Emanual Quick leonar J Barrett. Both guys, despite only playing like thirty games at the second half of the season, played pretty well. Like in their roles, they played pretty pretty well. Unfortunately, they were not healthy and they didn't get to play. Actually, I think they probably wanted that. They wanted to tank to try to keep their pick. But this year it's rebuild. They have this new motto that says the future is now,
and they got the thirtieth anniversary. They're doing the new jerseys. They're bringing back purple for a little bit. Vince Carter's jersey is getting retired. So there's gonna be a lot of fluff and pageantry likely you know what I mean, to cover some poor basketball. But at the same time, I do think they kind of have like an interesting little group going. What the ceiling of that group is really depends on if Scotty ends up becoming like an All NBA type player, if IQ or RJ take those
leaps in their careers, we'll see. We have no idea, but it's equal parts exciting, equal parts relieving, because the last four or five years has been this sort of tread mill of mediocrity, if you will. With Pascal and Fred VanVleet and those guys, it just felt like that team was going nowhere. Uh So it's a reset, is a bit of a refresh to what we got for
the next little bit. Well, I have no idea if that ends up being a championship for at this point, it doesn't seem like they have the tools to do that. They probably gotta suck a couple others a few more seasons to get you know, maybe a Cooper flag, maybe whoever else that's coming along the way. But yeah, we'll see.
Yeah, yeah, man, because like those both of those guys went to other teams and made them so much better, Like and Pascal Siak like that, even Fred like in Houston, yea, yeah, got a lot better. Like man, put those three together on a team in there. Yeah, you guys should think about undoing those traits I know, but yeah, I don't know, like I got. I could definitely see like those trades yielding something great. Scottie Barnes feels like he's a great
third or maybe second best player on a championship team. Yeah, like he's just like a great like defender, like but probably not the guy.
So I like it.
I like where you guys are at. Plus we're looking at a second year dick. Oh yeah, oh yeah, he's girthy by the way, girth. Yeah, added some girth this year. I noticed he did a little better last year than I thought he did. He played in sixty games, twenty one minutes a game, eight and a half points, shooting thirty six and a half from three, So that's not nothing.
Yeah, second half of the season it was like, I don't know, twelve thirteen points and then forty percent from three. So hopefully that translates over. They have so many young guys too, like just four rookies that they're trying to incorporate. A lot of those guys are going to see some G League minutes. But it's it's like starting new and
seeing what sticks really for this Raptors team. And I think you said the over under was like twenty nine and a half, right, Yeah, I would not be surprised if they hit the over on that, just because I think their starting lineup is pretty decent, but they have no depth, and like they'll be able to catch a team, you know, on an off night type of thing, and be frisky and pre competitive and maybe pull off a win.
I think they could get close to like thirty five. Yeah, but again if they if they decide in February that ah were actually four games away from the play in, but six games away from the second best.
Lottery odds rhetoric or whatever. Yeah, yeah, I could see them shift in their direction.
A little bit.
You know, the white flag for white flag there you go in the pooper for Coopers.
Yeah, yeah, yes, yeah this is.
And I'm just reading this headline from you two from Raptors Digest and it says massive Dick leap incoming. So well that's okay. They think he's going to take the leap.
No, it's his name, Tack. Were you over or under on them?
I'm seeing a big over on this one. I'm thinking like sixty six, sixty seven wins for the Raptors, all the wins.
Out East no one in the West is winning the basketball game.
I think at this point it would be mathematically impossible for these teams to win as many games as they're going to guaranteed.
Yeah, well, but hey, we can dream, can't we. Yeah? I think I think they can easily hit that and get the over on that. But the nets, now here's a team twenty two wins last season. They're being right now. The odds makers are saying eighteen and a half to twenty three and a half games. So depending on which end of it you're looking at, it's either a downgrade or a slight up. Great. I mean this, I was looking at this roster and I was like, hmmm.
Yeah, indeed, who's their coach?
Jordi Fernandez? He coaches Canada basketball? Actually funnyough, okay, pretty good coach, right, Canada basketball is pretty tough.
They're right. I could see this being winning one game more than less fifty nine to sixty win. No, I could see them putting together something. So it just it feels like someone's gonna have to lose all these games? Is the right true? The question that like oddsmakers put and I think a lot of times they are offloading the wins to like a couple teams, or there's like, let's like, mathematically, let's just say it's the Nets who are gonna lose all these games. But I could see
them like doing a little bit better than this. Like for a team to do as badly as you know, let's say the Pistons did last year, it's not just a lack of talent, Like things just have to go badly, right, And I just can't see that happening with the team that has Ben Simmons on.
But Jack, we got those, we got our annual off season Simmons in the lab highlight tape.
Don't look now, but Ben Simmons, he's different. He's a bad contract year.
Ben Simmons man.
I you know, I root for him. I hope, I hope he can, Yeah he can improve. But yeah, I don't. I just don't know. I think, Yeah, it seems like this season many's gonna be it. Maybe they they luck out in the draft, and then maybe this roster begins to look a little bit more like something that people can believe in.
Maybe they get that guy named Cooper wearing New Balances on their roster. Did you see he signed with New.
Balance honestly sounds like someone who would live in Brooklyn, you know.
Yeah, yeah, wearing new balances.
Cooper the whoop those what they call him on the block. They're like, Yo, there's Cooper. He's a hooper man. Yeah, He's like, what did you do? He's a graphic designer over at the bag game, but you know he can hoop bro when he puts those new balances on him, He's like.
Why, Yeah, I don't know, it'll be interesting. Muggle always good for the Yeah, I think a lot of people have come through the seventy six ers here.
Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna say they might be a little fun.
I think I don't like to win.
Yeah, but I think like a Cam Thomas forty ball, you know, maybe like a forty point game for Cam Thomas. How about you know, like Dennis Schroeder, you know Lakers fan, huh Dennis Schroeder? Yeah, anybody you know? Ye, Cam Johnson's gonna get traded, Dorian Phinney Smith's gonna get traded. Maybe Nick's Nick Claxon gets traded. Maybe they get some good stuff from that.
I don't know.
I think I think with the nets it's good that they got their pickback for this year, right, and that was huge for them to be able to just pull the plug. I will say, though, it's kind of interesting because they don't own their pick next year and so they have to turn this thing around pretty quickly. So how are they going to use this summer the draft trading some of these guys to maybe get their roster a little bit better than what it is now because they probably are losing their pick next year.
But they do have the pick in the Cooper Flag Draft. They do, they do have they they might just be all in on losing as many games as they possibly can.
Yeah. No, actually I think they have their pick next season. I think it's from twenty it's from twenty seven to about twenty nine that they make.
Okay, so they have a two year window.
Gotcha two year wins, So they got two so they maybe they get a boozer kid or something. Who knows, and things could look pretty lovely. So were you over under on this one?
As what was the what was it again?
Like eighteen between seven and a half and twenty three and a half five and a half twins?
I who was the last team to win single digits? Was it the Hornets or Bobcats, And was that nine wins?
They won nine games? Yeah?
Can this not be that bad? I feel, can we?
I don't think it's gonna be that bad.
You don't think it's gonna be that bad.
I listen to me, Jackson seventy wins for like three teams one team?
Yeah you know, yeah, yeah, all right, let's go under on the nets.
Okay, so the Pistons won fourteen games. Let's let's pick that as they're over do they do they win.
More or more than fourteen? They w I think more than fourteen less than.
I think they went more than fourteen?
Okay, all right, more than fourteen, less than twenty two. I think it's somewhere in there. Maybe I don't know. Look what do I know? Okay? So Jabid came through the chat. He said, Bobcasts won seven in twenty twelve. Damn seven and fifty.
Is that a full season?
Twenty twelve?
Not if it was seven and fifty nine.
I thought twenty eleven was the oh yeah, no, never yeaheah.
But like the winning percentage is the lowest ever.
Right right, right? Well, hey, well guess what now? We got to transition straight into the fourth quarter of Rapid Bire a round of questioning. S it's always good having you, man, but obviously still are in the hot seat, bro, so we got to ask you these questions. You respond as quick as possible. You don't just don't take your time, man, come straight from the heart. Okay, yes, yeah, and we will be rude to you if you take too much time. So S are you ready?
I am?
I am okay, thank you, Thank you for the confirmation, Brian start the clock. Yes, yes, man, it's so good having you, bro. But I don't I don't want to IM. I gotta ask you one of the hardest questions. Now you've seen some of the leaked City Edition jerseys for this next season, Please tell me what is your favorite? Shout out the favorites of the City Edition jerseys that we're seeing for this season, because there's a lot of options and I'm curious what tickles your heart.
I like the Raptors, the Vince Carter, Donking very Fire, the Memphis Red with the Cursive.
Also explain that one to me, because yeah, I like it. I don't get how it You don't.
Get it, Yeah, I have no idea how it's Memphis, but it's at school.
Yeah, it is cool.
I'm assuming like there's some kind.
Of like soul music vibe to this or something. I have no idea, no clue, no idea. Yeah. I liked their one that looked like a No Limit album cover.
Yes, yeah, with thet Yeah.
They do well in general man Memphis as well.
With their jerseys.
I know, I know they're bringing back like the Grizzlies white and like teal ones too, which would be cool. I kind of like the Hawk's jerseys. I don't know if you guys have seen this one.
Oh, it's like the Carolina blue and white.
Yeah, the powder blue ones, Yeah, those are nice. Those are nice.
A lot of teams going with the powder blue that don't have a powder blue tradition necessarily. Cleveland is powder blue with like white the land written on it. I like the font, but I'm not seeing how like. I guess that's the thing. The colorway needs to like make some sense to me, like that it needs to like in some way harken back to a color that has ever been associated with your roster. It's true.
Yeah, honestly, I feel like we like we should stop doing new jerseys every year. You know, yeah, yeah, yeah, do it like every five years or something, you know what I mean, like stick with it, see how it is, and then in five years you can be like, oh, New City Edition Jersey coming up next, sure, you know.
Yeah, or just give us, just give us the throwbacks we deserve that we're always yearning for. Uh yeah, I think there there's there's definitely some interesting stuff here. I'm not a fan of the Lake Show one, but I do. I really like the Raptors one. The Vince Carter not is really dope.
Yeah, that seems to be the one that everybody, like, everybody's favorite for the people who haven't seen it, it is the Raptor that we were talking about up top, the Red Dino doing the between the legs, Vince Carter dunk right right right. Yeah.
We'll know more like once the official launches, because they always like give you the backstory to like kind of understand like what the inspiration was for each one. Okay, that was a good That was a good answer, I guess Jack.
Next, all right, you get to pick the next three locations for the All Star Game. They don't have to be places that have NBA teams currently.
What do you pick even in this country.
NFL players loved Rio de Janeiro. Okay, they didn't, by the way, they did not, But let's let's throw them in Brazil. Let's do Mexico City, and let's do Montreal. I feel like Montreal would do a good job, you know, yeah.
Just for laughs, you know, just bring a little of the just for laughs energy.
To little stand up comedy. I remember Cedric the entertainer used to have these all star comedy things. I don't he doesn't do it anymore, but they were fun.
Those were cool.
Yeah, all right, Europe, oh me, ah, well, fantastic. If the NBA scheduled the finals location similar to how the NFL or even college basketball does, obviously completely unrelated to the teams, where are you putting the next three finals venues?
All right?
Okay, but they should be they should be within like North America, just for the purpose of, you know, making obviously ease of travel. But I guess you can pick yet whatever however you want.
Okay, Alaska does that count? That counts?
Yeah? Yeah, let's do Alaska counts. Baby, It's I'm just getting word from our judges. That doesn't count. Okay, all right, okay, it.
Has to be a meticulous united explain why you know the Hawaii is on the table. Okay, for some reason, Hawaii is on the table. Alaska is not.
Okay, I'll lean into Hawaii. Can we do Hawaii? That would be cool? You know, yeah, you should be Actually no, I'm just getting word that you can't do Hawaii for some reason.
All right, Okay, no Hawaii. How about, like, I don't know, let's go Vegas.
Yes, And we were just waiting for you to say Vegas because we do want it to happen. Just say that three times Vegas, Vegas? And what is the in season tournament? Would be like this here because like last year, there was excitement, but then the Lakers won and nobody kind of became a nothing, Like how are they going to keep people interested?
Yeah, that's a good question. I think the only way to do that is if the games are really good. The question with that is how are the games going to be? Like you got to get the guys to buy in? I thought they bought in last year. Are they going to do it for a second year? Not sure, especially because nobody gave the Lakers credit for that, right, Like nobody was like, oh yeah, shout out to the Lakers.
No, they didn't mean we were like flippantly being like in season tournament champions, the LA Lakers. Yeah, but not no one, no one, No one gets credit.
Man.
It's so hard out here, you know what I mean, Like, it's so tough. Dude, I don't even know I get through it, you know, but I'm brave, I guess is what.
Yeah, I was gonna say, courage is the way you get through it.
Oh yeah, yeah, we really got to keep this movie. Man. I'm sorry. I don't know why I talk about sin season tournaments. Suddenly we had nothing nothing to do with the question, Jack, are you doing last one? Yeah?
Last one? We're playing pick up with presidents and prime ministers for some reason, we just got the first pick. We took Obama. Yeah, and it can be anyone, anyone from history, and they are at their physical peak, the peak of their abilities.
I'll take Uh, Jamie Fox as Tony Blair.
Jamie Fox as Tony Blair.
That's a that's a Chappelle skit for you guys. Uh, let me go. Man, Trump is like six ' four, you know he's not though, Man, do you think you think do you think that he's wearing he's wearing little escalades on his shoes.
Yeah, Trump, I mean that says a lot about you.
But yeah, but look, I'm trying to build a team here. You know who's a t is abe Lincoln Tall?
Was he tall six four? Let me say he was like the best wrestler of his time.
He was the number one wrestler of his time. I feel like he probably we're gonna give you some training, training time with with him.
So yeah, give me, give me the links, give me give me uh Tony Blair, Uh the links.
I like it, Jamie Fox.
Version, Uh.
Yeah, Damn?
Who else do I have? Do I have to pick another guy?
Like the most athletic, like Canadian prime minister? Like is there even anything like.
That in the I mean the Canadian culture prime minister boxed, like Justin Trudeau boxes. I think he got some cardio at least.
Yeah, let's do Justin some cardio.
Yeah, but hey he can throw hands. Yeah, there it is.
You have successfully passed through the A gauntlet.
Every right, answer every single one, especially link Yeah, shout.
Out links man A blinks, broy just blinks. They call it links links send him blink of And now he's gone, baby spar HAINI thank you so much for joining us, Jack. I'm at boost E's. Where do people find you? Follow you? Check out your work? Supports you all that.
Find me on Twitter? Man at just that or X as they call it, don't at just a sparahine. You can find me on there.
I do.
I post all my stuff on there, So yeah, I appreciate you guys.
Man always fun as always fun, always great, haven't you.
You can follow the show at the hashtag mat boosties on Twitter. That's you find show links updates, and that's also how you can join the discussion on the discord server. You can follow us on Twitter. I'm at Miles of Gray.
I'm at Jack Underscore, Obrien and another one. We switched it this episode so flawless, lob dunk. Hey hang another band, hook hook.
You know how many banners? That's one hundred and thirty two banners we've hung up so far. That's wild. You know, that's just how we do sit. We'll see you guys next time on Miles of Jack got mad boots and we are.
Like the Celtics and that we counted even like back when there were only three podcasts yeah, We're still like, yeah, man, they'll still count and are just as impressive as the ones when there were thirty.
Obviously obviously, all right, we'll calculator.
Bye bye,